Method of making welded steel units



Oct. 30, 1951 ZALLEA T AL 2,573,530

METHOD OF MAKING WELDED STEEL UNITS Original Filed Aug. 18, 1945 f 5 Sheets-Sheet l 2 W I El 3 IN V EN TOR.

Q-AMEs P. ZAkLEA BYOOHN Q. MANK 1951 J. P. ZALLEA ET AL 2,573,530

METHOD OF MAKING WELDED STEEL UNITS Original Filed Aug. 18 945 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

m5 JAMES V ZHLME BY UOHN 0- MA NL Oct. 30, 1951 J. P. ZALLEA EI'AL 2,573,530

METHOD OF MAKING WELDED STEEL UNITS Original Filed Aug. 18, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 S I INVENTOR.

QHMEfi P QHkkE I BY 'oorm Q- MANK XWW 1951 J. P. ZALLEA ET AL 2,573,530

METHOD OF MAKING WELDED STEEL UNITS Original Filed Aug. 18, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 J4 INVENTOR.

shines P. ZHLJ-EA BY 0mm Q. MARK 1951 J. P. ZALLEA ET AL 5 5 METHOD OF MAKING WELDED STEEL UNITS Original Filed Aug. 18, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 L J l I INVENTOR. 77 4 ommas Q/awn d zs OOHNQ-MHNK- Patented Oct. 30, 1951 15 UNITED PATENT OFFICE l .i '1 2313530 1. "METHOD o MAKINqwEL En SIEELUNITS James P. zalleapwilmingtonpand Jinn J.,Mank; V w

Newark, DeL, assignors to Zallea Brothers, Wilmington,. Del a partnership consisting of James Zallea and S01 Zallea Originalapplication August 18, 1945 Serial -No.

611,400,'now Patent No. 2,489,844, dated N- :v vember, 29, ,1949; Divided ,andthis v March 31,1948, $erial N0.;1$, 13 8 i 'S'Clain'is) to]. 29-148) l "'This application isa division of ,copendingape plication, Serial No. 611,400ffile'd August 18, 1945; ed November'29,"1949, asPatent'NoI 2,489,844.

Thefpresent invention relates generally to tubularf'exp'ansion joints employed between and coupledto portions of rigid'pipes' or conduits for thepurp'ose of absorbing expansions and contrac tions of such pipes 'or' conduits? "Such expansion joints employ a relatively thin walled, more or less flexible,. circumferehtially corrugated itube made of suitable material jsuch'as copper, copper alloys, stainless steel or other'materials. Such expansion joints are also provided with external reinforcing elements, more commonly'in the form of encircling annular structures] portions of which extend radially into the valleys of thecor rugations and other portions of which extend axially of the tube'and surround the peaks of the corrugations. 'I'hesereinforcing devices are designed for. the purpose. of limiting the extension or contraction offtheexpansion tube; The, present invention is particularly directed to: the" design and construction of theseencircling'rein forcing and limitingelem'ents and t'o lth'e method of making the same. W

the ends of the expansion tubes which serve for coupling the expansion joints to corresponding portions of the conduits. The present invention is directed in-part to the structure of these end portions of the expansion joint.

One object of the present invention isto pro vide reinforcing elements which are greatly reduced in weight as compared with the reinforcing elements known hitherto. These reinforcing elements are supported and carried by the thin the manufacture of the several types of end construction with a minimum of stock on hand. This object is accomplished by the use of the pressed or stamped elements which are employed in the formation of the reinforcing rings as expansion limitin members.

Another object of the'present inventio n 'th' o. v In addition, "expansionbjoints alsoincludend portions firmly and permanently associated with application .1 I H I s i v 2' d Construction, is .to provide a structural are rangement' whereby the thrust from the pipe" is transmitted to the expansion tube uniformly cir cumferentially o'fthe'tube by'a thrustreceivingi element. Another object of the present inventionfis vto minimize and substantially eliminate thevexpen f sive machining operations which are involved in the constructions known hitherto which employ castings whichhave to be machined. Other objectstand advantages'of the present invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art from the accompanying drawings and: the presentspecification.

In the drawings: Figure lis a plan view of one embodiment of i the present invention; w v T Figure 2 is a sectional view'thereof showing the expansion jointin its fully expanded position;

Figure 3 is a view' similar to'F-igure 2 showing' the expansion jointinoits fully contracted posi-i I I, Figure 4 is a partly broken end' View of Figf-I ureay' i l Figure 5 is a sectional view .of a modified end structure of the expansion joint; v i Figure 5a is a sectional view of a further modi-f fied end structure; v, a '7 Figure 6, isan end View thereof taken'on linej 6 6 of Figure'S; V Figure 7 is a face View of reinforcing ring; v Figure .8 is ajview. thereof as shown by line" 8 '8 of Figure 7; 1 V Figure 9 is a sectional view of one of the pressed ringsta'ken on 1ine 99 of Figure 10; Figure 10 is a plan view of one of the pressed Figure '11 is a' sectional end view ofanother form of end construction; v V Figure 12 is an end view thereof; j Figure 13 is a sectional view of still another" form of endconstruction;

Figure 14 isan end View thereof; Figure 15 is an .end elevational view of a joint;

taken on the line When the expansion joint is inserted betweena pair of bolting ends of conduits shown in dottedlines in Figure 1 and is permanently-assembled-- therewith as by bolts or the like, the spun over end of the tube 2|! will be: grippedat eachend between a pair of bolting flanges. Otherforms of end construction are shown inFigures 5 and 6.

and in Figures 11 to 16 inclusive, which will be described in detail in a later-;portion': ofjthe specification. f

The reinforcing annular rings are generally indicated by reference character and aresub-- stantially the same in all forms of the-present invention. At this point;.therefore, the structure and methodof manufacture of the reinforcing annular elements125 will be detailed.

indicated in full lines inFigure 9 of the drawings.

Itwill be seen that by the stamping operation the material adjacentthe inner edge 21 is curved so that the edge 21 is planar, while the flat body portion of the annulus is dished as shown so that its peripheral edge lies approximately in or closely adjacent to the plane of the inner edge 21. It is this principle of construction of the annulus 26 that permits. of the next step in the manufactureof reinforcing rings 25. As shown by'dotted linesin Figure. 9,.a duplicate annulus 26 is turned face to face to the annulus shown in full..lines. In. this position the edges 2'! abut and the same are welded together along theline 28. The peripheral portionspf the ,plates, 26 may contact each othenas shown in Figure 9 or theymay be more or less spaced from each other as in the modification shown in Figures 17 ,and 18 tQ bedescribed hereinafter. The essential feature of this phase of the present invention resides in the. suitable shaping of the inner portion of .theannulus126 so that when the pair are welded they form a suitable shape. for engaging the corrugationsof the.expansion' tube 20 as shown. in .the drawings. The annulus |9 produced by weldingv the shaped units 26'fo'rms a hollow toroid; and the preshaped annulus 26 will be hereinafter referred to asa hemitoroid.

As a next step, thehollow toroid |9 is inserted into the interior of .a circular. band 29 andwits peripheral edges are welded, tothe interior of the band 29 as shown by-the welding material 3D i n.Figure 8. A relatively thick apertured ear 3| is welded to the exterior, of the band 29vat diametrically opposed points. In addition, the band 29 has welded thereto internally threaded bosses 32 atv diametrically opposed points and preferably-half way between the ears 3|. (See Figure'7.)

'It will now be understood that at this point the, reinforcingiringp 25 is .in the form of. an

annularunitjconsisting of thecircular band-29. and'hollowrtoroid J9 disposed within and-welded to ,'.the ,band together. .with,. .a pair, .of hea y 31 3| and tapped bosses 32. At this point the structure thus obtained is cut in two along a diameter which halves the ears 3| as shown by line 33. Figure 8 represents an end view of the cut face of 'oneofthese-halves; It will now be understood that these two halves may be readily installed over the expansion tube and when so installed are joined together by means of bolts and I nuts34 and 35. Thelinkage device 36 is carried by the bosses 32 and serves to equalize the extension and contraction of the several corruga- I tions' ofwthe tube 20.

v The reinforcing elements thus far described will be seen to be employed in all the forms of theinvention disclosed herein and are employed in the manner shown for all types of expansion tubes whether they be of copper or stainless steel or any other suitable material.

One phase of thepresent invention resides in the simple and rugged construction of the ends of the expansion tubes which are particularly designed to transmit the thrust of the pipe or conduit system directly to the expansion tube over a large area thereof, thereby prolonging the life of the expansion joint. In the construction of the ends of the expansion joint, whether such ends include bolting flanges as shown in Figures 1 to 4 or welding nipples as shown in Figures T1 vto 14,'the'hemitoroid shown inv Figure 10 of the drawings is employed for direct contact with the endmost corrugation of the expansion tube and for cooperation with the reinforcing rings which have been thus far described. Thus the end structure of the expansion joint as well as the reinforcing rings utilize the same basic-units and are assembled and constructed by welding operations.

All of the end structures shown herein have an end expansion limiting member, which also serves to transmit thrust to the expansion tube,

' and which consists of the circular'band 4| and the ring .40.

the hemitoroid 40, shown as 26 in Figure 10. The hemitoroid 40 is welded to the inside, of the band 4| as shown. The band 4|. willbe seenito cooperate with the bands 29 to limit contraction of the endmost. corrugation and is approximately one-half'the width ofeach of the,,bands 29..

at 42. .The sleeve 42, welded to the planaredge of the hemitoroid 40 at one end,,is also welded to the bolting flange 2| at the other end. Reinforcingribs. 43 are welded .at one end to, the

bolting flange. 2| and at the other end both .to M and 4| as shown. The end unit, whichincludes the bolting flange 2| and the. elements '40, 4|, 42 and 43 together with the bosses 32 welded thereon as shown, are, built upas units and mounted on the cylindrical ends of. theexpansion tube 20 in their. circular or annular form,. the free end of the tubes 2|] being then spun over the flange 2|. However, if desired, this end struc ture may be cut into two cooperating halves and mounted on the tube ends and bolted together by means of the same type of lug'construction as that .employed in the reinforcing rings.

The end flanges 2| each maybe provided, if desired, with a pair of diametrically opposed notched lugs 45, the corresponding lugs of the' longitudinally spaced flangesg2| beingalined to receive in theopen-ended notchesthereof a longitucmauy extending tie rod insistently; thesis tie rods "being thus so'dispo'sed lengthwise along diametrically"opposite sides of the" expan ion joint'as to effectively maintain "the equalizing rings 'ofthelatter' properly alined and the joint substantially'r'igid during storage and shipment thereof. Themodifi'cation' of end; structure'shownfin Figures and 6 will be seen to employ the same elements 40, H 42 and 43 as those employed in thecforms shown in Figures 2 and 3. Inf this form, however, the end of the expansio'n'tube l lodges in a recess on the inner face of the bolting flange 2H and is welded therein: as at 2 l 2.' In-addition, in the formshown' in-Figures Band 6 the meeting faces of the" bolting flange 2 l and the conduit bolting ring 2'l3' are re spectively provided with cooperating, "comple mental grooves 2l4' "2l4 to form an' annular recess 'within which is 'receiv'ed a solid soft'metal ring gasket 215, such asof soft iron orth'e'like, which 7 is compressible' to seal the joint between the members '2 l I and 2l3.

The forms of end structure shown in Figures 11 to 14 employ welding nipples instead of bolting flanges. As previously described, they each employ the elements 40' and 4 I'. "The sleeve 5| in Figure 11 is welded to the ring 40 and has a flared end-52. Similarly, the expansion tube also hasa flared end shown by 53. It will be seenthat the end of the expansion tube, is dispo sed lbet weenthe welding nipple 50,,and the sleeve 5 l ;A standard cup joint carbon or metallic arc weld 54 is formed between the end 53 of hthe expansion tube and. the welding nipple 50,, A series of circumferentially spaced thrust transmitting gussets or'ribs are welded to elements 4i! and M, to element 5Land its flared eta; 52 and, if desired, also to the welding nipple 50.: fjWith this" construction the welding of the gussets to'the nipples may be eliminated since the cup joint has suificient strength in shear to transmit the thrust.

In the assembly of the end structure shown in Figures 11 and 12, the elements 40, H and 5| may be prefabricated and mounted on the end of the expansion tube in ring-like or annular form. If desired, however, the same may be split to provide two halves, the halves also being provided with bolting lugs and the same may then be clamped on the end of the expansion tube. The welding nipple is then inserted, the cup joint arc weld 54 is then formed and the reinforcing gussets 55 are then welded to the elements 40 and 5|. Figures 11 and 12 is particularly applicable to copper expansion tubes but may also be applied to other types of tubes.

The construction shown in Figures 13 and 14 is particularly applicable to stainless steel expansion tubes but may also be employed for copper tubes or the like. In this form, the welding nipple 56 receives the free end of the expansion tube in an annular depression and is welded thereto by a metallic are butt weld 60. The sleeve BI is welded to the element 40 and the gussets or reinforcing ribs 62 are welded at their ends and edges to the elements 40, M and BI to the nipple 50.

Figures 15 and 16 illustrate a construction of a bolting end flange 2 l which is extended downwardly, as at 10, to provide a flat bottom edge H which is welded to an anchor base member I2. This base member 12 is provided with bolting apertures 13 by means of which the end of The structure shown in be securely anchored'to any suit able support anwso secured in the conduit lin'e. As 'inprevi ously described forms of the joint, the elements 40 re permanently secured to the end flange 2P by interposed gussets 43 the bottom gusset 43! being of the special shape shown in Figure 16 with its edges respectively welded to the sleeve 4'2, the end flange 2 l and the anchor base member 'l2 where'by the latter becomes an integral part of the "end assembly of the joint; Inall other material respects the joint of Figures 15 and 16 is substantially on the order of those hereinbefore described.

v If: desired, the central annular reinforcing rings'of the expansionjoint may be somewhat mo'difiedin form by employing pressed disks l4 of'the cross-sectional shape shown in Figure 18. In this shape of the disk 14', the outer edge por-'- tion 15 thereof is oppositely dished with'respect to inner edge portion 16 with the result that when two of the disks'M are assembled as shown inFigure 1'1 with their. inner edges welded together along the circular line 16 the outer edges |1 ll of 'the'welded unit'are divergent with respect'to the median plane of the unit and so pro vide a relatively'broad support for the circular band 18 welded thereto. The resultant rin is also in the form of hollow annular unit which in all material respects is similar in function to that' shown in Figures 7' to 10, inclusive, the annular unit being split, as in the previously de scribed form, to provide two halves which may be bolted together in embracing relation with respect tothe corrugated flexible tube of the ex: pansion joint. I

It'will be understood, of course, that the pres:- ent in'vention is susceptible of various changes and modifications other than those hereinbefore specifically described without departing from the real spirit or general principles of e the in vention fFor example, Figure 5A illustrates a modification of the end construction of the joint, as shown in Figure 5, wherein the end of the corrugated tube is spun over the end bolting flange 2 instead of being welded thereto, the flanged end 201 of the tube being then engaged by the gasket 2|5 to force the tube material into the annular 2M of the bolting flange ZIZ. In this construction, as shown in Figure 5A, the expansion joint is provided with a Vanstone end facing which is effectively sealed against leakage by the compressible gasket 2 I 5.

Reviewing the several forms of end structures shown in the present application it will be observed that the thrust transmitted by the pipe or conduit system is in the first instance received by the bolting flange or welding nipple as the case may be. In each case, this thrust is transmitted by these endmost elements through the gussets or reinforcing ribs 43, 55 or 62 as the case may be to the reinforcing rings 40 which have their inner ends lodged directly against the first bend in the expansion tube. The sleeves 42, 5| and 6| in all of these forms also serve to transmit thrust to the lower edge of the reinforcing rings 40.

The bolting flanges 2! as Well as the Welding nipples 50 serve as a means for coupling the joint to the pipe system. These Will, therefore, be referred to in the claims by the generic term coupler.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. The method of forming reinforcing units for an expansion joint of the type having a corrugated flexible tube which consists, first, in formingqof sheet metal a-.-pair qof identical, interchangeable annular "disks each having a circular main body portion the inner-edge portionof which is'turned in thegeneral direction ofthe central axis of the dish to present the-peripheral edge of said turned portion in a plane extending substantially normal to said axis, in then arranging said pair of disks in axial registry; with the inturned inner peripheral edges in abutting relation, in then uniting said abutting edges to forma unitary assembly of said pair of'disks, in then securing a circular band to the outer peripheral edges of said assembled-pair of disks to provide said diskassemblywith an embracing rim the medianplane of which is coincident; with the-plane of the abutting edges of said assembled pair of disks, said band being provided at 'diametrically spaced points thereof with a pair of radially projecting apertured lugs, and'in then diametrically severing the banded disk-assembly along the diametric' median plane of said lugs toprovide apair of symmetrical halves adapted to be clamped together in encircling relation about the flexible tube of the expansion joint.

2. In the method as defined in claim 1 wherein the outer peripheral edges of said assembled pair of disks are axially spaced apart and respec tively welded to said embracing band 1 '3. In the method as defined in claim 1 wherein the circular main. bodyportions of the assembled pair of disks are dished inwardly toward each other to present the outer peripheral edges thereof in closely associated relation; 1

4. In the method as defined in claim 1 Wherein the inturned inner edge portions of said pair of axially registered disks are rounded to conjointly provide the internal edge'of the annular disk-assembly with a smoothly rounded surface symmetrical with respect to the median plane of the assembly.

5. The method of forming reinforcin units for expansionjoints of the type having a corrugated 8v flexible tube which consists, first, in forming ga circumferentially continuous annulus having a smoothly rounded inner edge and an external peripheral edge disposed in a cylindrical surface coaxial with said annulus, in then securing a circumferentially continuous circular band to said peripheral edge of the annulus, said band being of greater width than said peripheral edge of=the annulus and being centered with respect thereto to provide said annulus with an embracing rim the opposite edges of which uniformly overhang the opposite sides of said peripheral edge, in providing said band with a pair of di-'- ametrically opposed, radially projecting lugs respectively apertured along axes extending normal to the axis of said annulus, and in then diametrically severing the banded annulus along the diametric median plane of said lugs to split the latter and said annulus and so provide a pair of symmetrical halves adapted to be clamped together in encircling relation about the flexible tube of the expansion-joint.

JAMES P. ZALLEA. JOHN J. MANK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

